


index

by vermellion



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Parental Riza Hawkeye, Parental Roy Mustang, Useless Roy Mustang, slight AU, you know i keep that mf tag ON ME
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:48:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26786947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vermellion/pseuds/vermellion
Summary: Roy doesn't listen to a hostage demand. Ed pays for his mistake.
Relationships: Edward Elric & Roy Mustang
Comments: 6
Kudos: 105





	index

**Author's Note:**

> this is just the scene where scar chases ed except worse

His world was crumbling, panic welling up in him with no place to go.

Ed had felt numb the whole time he was being chased. It was a somber day to begin with, and he hadn’t even realized what was going on until Al had already yanked him out of the way of the man who had approached them.

He had no idea who this guy was, but thankfully Al could smell his bad intentions from a mile away. 

Ed wasn’t even aware of what he was doing or where he was going until the man had annihilated half of Al’s armor. 

That sure was a rough wake up call.

They had traded some blows back and forth. Ed knew that he was being careless, but the fear he felt when seeing his brother had fueled him to fight without hesitation.

The rain plastered his hair to his face. If the situation wasn’t so serious, Ed would have joked that that was the reason he wasn’t fighting as well as usual. 

His attacks were reckless, sloppy. If he were sparring with Al he would have been taken out in no time at all.

He could feel the animosity pouring out of the man in front of him. He had started saying something about the automail arm, but Ed wasn’t listening. All he could think about was that this guy really,  _ genuinely  _ wanted him dead. He must have thrown one too many punches and kicks with his automail.

The next thing he noticed was the man lunging over and destroying his right arm.

Suddenly the rain was much more of an inconvenience. Ed was losing his balance, the drenched cobblestone not aiding his grip on the ground in any way. He couldn’t move from his spot.

Then he was on the ground, fallen over. Oh, right, the automail is gone. He must have not accounted for that when trying to move. 

He had to get away from him. The only thing his mind was telling him was to  _ run _ and as much as it would hurt his pride, he couldn’t bring himself to object.

His efforts were in vain. As soon as Ed made a move to stand up, the man with the scar on his face was fast approaching.

“Trying to get away on that abhorrent leg of yours?” The man spat the words at him, as if he knew the reason his leg was missing. The reaction would be justified if he did.

He must have been able to tell it was automail in their fight. Ed wasn’t really sure, having been moving on autopilot, but the man could probably feel the weight of the leg while blocking one of Ed’s many sporadic kicks.

With a resulting crack, the remains of his automail leg had dispersed onto the rest of the street. There were bolts and cords spread out everywhere. Winry was gonna kill him if he got out of this. 

His senses were dulled. The rain was pounding against the ground, and the resulting splash was reverberating in his ears. It had never seemed so loud before.

He had the thought to ask for the man to spare Al before a few cars pulled up. 

His relief was short-lived. As soon as the military blues were visible, the scarred man had picked up Ed by the collar, putting him in a chokehold.

Oh.

* * *

Roy was not having a good day. To start, it was raining, which was never a good sign. Something always went wrong right when he couldn’t do anything about it.

He was hoping today would not be one of those days, but with every passing moment it felt like his fears were being confirmed.

The serial killer Scar was on the loose. That was already enough bad news for the day. Then, he was informed that the Elric brothers were in town and had figured they were most likely a target.

Unfortunately, the bad luck didn’t end there. In his panic, he had gone to find the Elric brothers, but the rain was making that difficult to the point it was infuriating him. There was no one around to ask if they had seen anyone, and traffic was slow to prevent an accident.

Roy was on the verge of snapping before Hawkeye had noticed something that looked like a scuffle happening down the street. 

They approached in the car.

It was worse than he thought. Fuck.

Roy hadn’t seen what had happened, but  _ somehow  _ this Scar guy had managed to completely destroy the kid’s automail.

He had to get the man away from Ed somehow. He was completely towering over the kid currently sprawled out on the ground, making Ed seem as small as the fifteen year old he really was. 

As Roy stepped out of the car with the others, Scar immediately took notice. Roy was hoping he would be able to do something to  _ get him away from Ed, he’s on the ground he can’t do anything. _

In the same moment, Roy drew his gun as Scar picked up Ed by the collar. 

He hesitated. A warning shot might cause him to panic, and with him so close to Ed -

Maybe he should have fired a shot. Because the momentum of picking the kid up off the ground had smoothly transitioned into a chokehold, right hand on top of his head.

He wished the kid would give him a different look. The expression on his face was devoid of emotion, looking like he was failing to comprehend what was happening. Compared to the normal blinding fury that was usually present in Fullmetal’s eyes, the lack of rage made him look hollow and entirely unlike himself.

Okay, fuck, the situation is still under control. All Roy needed to do was get the man away from Ed. He was holding him in a chokehold, but it didn’t look like he had a weapon or an item with a transmutation circle on it.

The large arm that was snaked around Ed’s neck must have been extremely uncomfortable, by the way Ed was grasping at it with his remaining hand. He wasn’t putting up a fight, not exactly, but it seemed like he was automatically trying to get away from the appendage trying to choke him.

His remaining foot wasn’t even touching the ground. The death grip around his neck kept him in place, not that he would have been able to stand anyways.

Roy wasn’t really sure what the man was trying to do. He knew the man must have  _ something  _ on him, considering the way the remains of Fullmetal’s automail were scattered everywhere. 

He had no gloves or weapons. Or anything for that matter that could hold a transmutation circle. A tattoo was possible, but they weren’t even sure what type of alchemy he was using to kill people. All they knew was that  _ something  _ was blowing these people up from the inside out. 

It had to be alchemy though. There was no other explanation. All he needed to know was where the transmutation circle was.

Roy decided that now would be a good time to fire a warning shot. 

The bullet rang throughout the air. For a moment everything was silent despite the constant white noise of the rain around them. If anything, he could try to negotiate.

Roy was about to speak. He decided on a whim to share a glance with Hawkeye, who was trying to convey a message saying  _ don’t do anything stupid  _ with just her expression. She did an exceptionally good job. 

Just as Roy brought his attention back to the man in front of him, the serial killer decided to make his demands.

“Do not come any closer or I will kill him.” His expression was cold, deathly so. But he had to be bluffing. He wouldn’t kill a hostage. That’s just poor planning.

Roy’s heart was thumping in his chest, loud and fast enough that he could’ve sworn it was beginning to sync with the sound of the rain dousing his head.

He was bluffing. Roy tried his best to reason with himself. He couldn’t be certain, but if he made even one wrong move and it turned out he was telling the truth -

No. That wouldn’t happen, because he had to be bluffing.

Roy decided to chance it. He nonchalantly put his hands up, easing into a grin that would have looked conceding to anyone else. He could try to approach, goading the man into a fight that would hopefully bring his attention away from Ed.

He took a step forward. 

Big mistake.

In hindsight, Roy should  _ not  _ have trusted his instinct. Even if the man was lying, was it worth it to risk someone else’s life over? If the situation wasn’t so severe Roy was certain Hawkeye would have shot him in the back of the head without hesitation.

Because as soon as he stepped forward, Scar reacted.

His right hand immediately moved, coming down from atop the kids head for the first time since he was put in a chokehold. 

Roy felt his breath catch in his chest.  _ Stupid, stupid, never act rash in a hostage situation. _

Scars hand was outstretched, but Roy couldn’t make out what he was trying to do. It looked as if he was trying to grab Ed’s hand to pry it off of his arm, but for some reason he was only grabbing two fingers.

Roy wished he had forgotten what the man had shown himself to be capable of.

There was a flash of blue, and then nothing.

He almost didn’t want to look. 

But he had to. He had already screwed this situation up, he couldn’t go running away from it.

At least two of the kid’s fingers were just…  _ gone.  _ Like nothing. Blood had begun to flow freely from his hand, a stark contrast to the rest of the gritty, melancholic day.

The act must have ignited  _ something  _ in Ed, and looking back it was most likely adrenaline, because now the boy was thrashing with his remaining limbs, clearly not caring about the threat of death hanging in the air.

Roy almost wanted to tell him to stop. That it wasn’t worth it. Yes, he was being hypocritical with how he had literally just thought that no harm would come to Ed. But now Roy was realizing that this man could and would kill his hostage without hesitation. 

The despair he felt was beginning to consume him whole. Hawkeye was going to kill him after this, he was sure of it. He couldn't pry his eyes away from the scene, so he had no idea of knowing whether or not there was a gun to the back of his head. If there was one, he would deserve it.

People behind him were shouting. Probably trying to actually negotiate, instead of whatever the hell Roy had just tried to do. Roy was tuning it out, too focused on the red accenting the cobblestone around them.

Scar made no more demands. He was stepping backwards, trying to escape the situation. No one was able to do anything, certain that the man would kill his hostage without a second thought if they tried. Everything had gone to shit really fast.

And the kid was  _ still  _ thrashing around. It was more subdued than before. The adrenaline was probably wearing off now, and the lack of two limbs was clearly making it more difficult to pose any sort of threat. But if he got one lucky hit -

Ed had somehow managed to punch the man right in the nose, the resulting  _ crack  _ being loud enough for anyone to cringe if they were to hear it.

Scar must not have been expecting it. After all, the kid could barely reach the man's face.

Judging from the noise, Scar would be lucky if he didn’t have a broken nose. His hands immediately moved from where they were to hold his nose, leaving Ed to fall to the ground with the grace of a wet rag.

There was a pause. In reality, it was probably only a few seconds, but it felt like hours. This was their chance. Fullmetal was lying on the ground, and the man was tall enough that they could safely shoot from this distance without hitting the kid.

Roy was frozen in place, unable to aim his weapon. He should have been prepared for something like this,  _ fuck,  _ they even go over this for every military member. But the sight of Fullmetal on the ground like that was making all of his muscles lock up, even though that was doing the exact opposite of helping.

Thankfully, he didn’t end up needing to take the shot. Hawkeye, who was guaranteed to have a much better aim than him, did it without hesitation, shooting as soon as she had a good opening. She grazed his shoulder, making him back away from the hostage on the ground. 

Roy wasn’t really sure why the small graze on his right arm was making him choose to flee rather than try to take a hostage again, but he wouldn’t question it. Hawkeye had continued to shoot at him, managing to graze him once more as he fled the scene. Roy and a few other uniformed soldiers took this as an opportunity to approach the kid on the ground.

Roy didn’t have time to say anything however, because as soon as Scar was out of sight, Ed had tried to crawl his way over to an alley.

It was pathetic, really. It hurt to watch the kid try to crawl with only one leg and whatever remained of his hand.

He could only watch as Hawkeye approached him and helped him up. He wasn’t listening to what she was saying, but he could tell from the expression on her face that Ed would not be willing to do what she wanted.

They continued over to the alleyway, with Roy trailing behind from a distance. Hawkeye had Ed’s remaining arm over her shoulder so she could help him walk, so it would have been no trouble for Roy to catch up.

He felt as if he shouldn’t be there. He had figured that Alphonse must have been in the alley, considering that it was nearly impossible to separate the brothers. 

But he couldn’t bring himself to leave. He still didn’t know how much damage had been done to Ed’s hand, and until he did, he wouldn’t let the kid out of sight. If he needed to discuss something privately with his brother, it could wait at least until someone had checked his hand out. Roy was sure the only reason Hawkeye had complied with taking Ed into the alley is because he would have protested and likely caused his hand more damage if they hadn’t.

Once they had turned into the alley, Ed had collapsed onto his knees in front of what remained of Alphonse. Ed spent more time fretting over Alphonse than he needed to, in Roy’s opinion. The boy was a suit of armour and couldn’t get hurt, right? If anything, Roy was surprised that Alphonse wasn’t fretting over Ed’s hand yet.

Oh no. Alphonse probably didn’t know what had happened to his brother's hand yet. He wouldn’t have been able to see what was happening from his position in the alley, and with the way Ed was currently sitting, the hand was mostly concealed from Alphonse’s line of sight. 

Roy decided Ed had had enough time being the overbearing sibling. He was perched at the entrance to the alley, close enough that he was aware of what was going on but far enough away that he wasn’t within reach of either of the brothers. Hawkeye had also retreated back to where Roy was standing, probably with the same thought in mind.

They both decided it was time to intervene when Ed had begun swaying, from blood loss no doubt.. It was hard to see because of the rain and the perpetual gray around them, but a small pool of blood was starting to form around where Ed’s hand was positioned behind him.

Hawkeye had put her jacket over his shoulders, and held him by them while Roy knelt down to look at his hand.

His reaction was delayed. The kid didn’t even acknowledge Roy’s presence until he was already holding his hand up to assess the damage.

And fuck, it was worse than he thought.

There were only two fingers missing. That was honestly better than he initially thought. It was only the pinky and ring finger missing, which all things considered are a lot better than other alternatives.

The more concerning part was the fact that half of his palm was missing. It looked like everything past the middle finger was just… gone. Blood was flowing freely from the wound, and Roy wasn’t sure how the kid hadn’t passed out yet.

It was then that he decided to tune back into the world around him.

Hawkeye was trying to reassure Alphonse. He must have started yelling at some point, having previously been unaware of what had happened to his brother’s hand. She was trying her best to explain that Ed would most likely be fine, but Alphonse had managed to convey a message of hysteria with his voice alone.

Ed looked like he was ready to pass out. His expression was dazed and unaware, and Roy wouldn’t be shocked if he had no idea as to what was going on right now.

A crowd was starting to build at the entrance to the alleyway. Hughes and a few others were there.

As concerned as he was, Hughes was probably the better choice to deal with this. Roy and Hawkeye had guided Fullmetal back to standing up, and pretty much lifted him over to the entrance. Roy motioned for Hughes to come over, who was looking much more uncomfortable than Roy could remember him being in a very long time.

He passed the kid off. Hughes and Hawkeye would be able to make sure Ed’s hand was treated properly. Roy himself would have to make sure no one else would come over and see the empty suit of armor on the ground.

As worried as he was, this was important. Ed would probably kill him if he found out that Roy had left his younger brother alone with military officials. So Roy watched Hawkeye and Hughes guide Ed out of the alley, presumably to somewhere they could help him.

Roy just hoped the kid’s brother would be more calm about the situation, though he would completely understand if he wasn’t. Roy himself was barely holding it together, especially after nearly making the situation unsalvageable.

All he had to do was wait for the military officials to clear out, and then get Alphonse somewhere inside that prying eyes wouldn’t be able to see him. Yeah, just help Alphonse, and worry about Ed later.

* * *

Somehow, Roy had managed to smuggle the hulking suit of armor into his office without anyone noticing. Or, maybe people had noticed and just decided not to say anything, unwilling to question him while he looked stoic and serious.

Alphonse had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the whole ordeal. He had asked Roy what had happened while laying disassembled on the floor of his car, and after being told the watered down version, he deigned to say anything else.

Maybe he could feel the anxiousness rolling off of Roy. Or, he was unfathomably upset with him for not listening to a hostage demand in the first place.

The only reason Roy wasn’t allowing himself to drown in guilt is because he couldn’t bring himself to do that with Alphonse here. Not that he would be embarrassed, but because he didn’t want to give the kid anymore reason to stress over what had happened to his brother. 

They were now situated in Roy’s office, and the silence was painful. Neither one would say anything to each other. Which is probably for the best, because Roy was barely keeping hold on his emotions.

The silence was shattered by a knock at the door.

Roy immediately knew who it would be, and eagerly opened the door with his grubby little hands.

Hughes looked him in the eyes and  _ didn’t  _ immediately kill him, which really shocked Roy. Then he remembered that Alphonse was within sight.

“Is my brother okay?” Alphonse almost sounded like he was pleading, and it pained Roy to hear it. He didn’t know how a suit of armor could convey such emotion through voice alone.

Hughes quickly stepped in front of him, giving off a reassuring energy. “He’ll be fine, he’s just with Hawkeye, they’re trying to find him a temporary prosthetic leg.” He had a smile on his face, one that most would interpret as being carefree, but Roy could see the anger welling up beneath it. “Actually, would you be okay by yourself for a bit? I need to discuss something with Roy outside quickly.”

Alphonse, who no longer cared for Roy’s presence now that he knew his brother was okay, had no problems with them leaving for a short period of time. Roy almost wished he would ask them to stay, just to avoid the verbal lashing from Hughes that he knew he deserved.

Hughes had made his way back over to the door, not even motioning for Roy to follow him. Yeah, he knew he was going to get the scolding of a lifetime.

He trailed behind Hughes, making sure to close the door behind him. They both continued walking to a mostly unused hallway, and the further they got from Roy’s office, the more scared he got.

Finally, he came to an abrupt stop. “What were you thinking!?” The words were said with so much animosity that Roy wasn’t sure how the man was able to mask it up until this point. He almost felt like crumpling under the words. But he wouldn’t, because he really wasn’t thinking, and deserved whatever he was about to get.

“I - I didn’t think he would actually hurt a hostage.” It was a poor defense, and they both knew it.

“You aren’t supposed to do that! Even if you’re positive they won’t harm a hostage, you’re still supposed to listen and not do anything rash! Ed could’ve died today.” His tone had lowered so quickly, to the point where it was just barely above a whisper as he uttered those last few words. “He really could’ve died today.” He repeated it to himself, bringing his hands up to his head.

“I - I know what I did was stupid. Fuck, he really is just a kid, huh?” They both knew. They didn’t need to be reminded. Moving Ed around earlier that day had only reminded them how young he really was. 

“You don’t want to know what will happen if you do something like that again.” The anger was back just as quickly as it had left. Roy knew he was not lying in the slightest while saying that. To be honest, Roy was a little surprised Hughes didn’t kill him on sight when he first found out he had recruited a twelve year old into the military.

Roy solemnly nodded. They had both made their way back to Roy’s office, hoping that Alphonse would not question what they had discussed when they got back.

Thankfully, they didn’t need to worry about that. Hawkeye and Ed had made their way into Roy’s office while he was out talking with Hughes. Him and Alphonse must have been joking about something, because Ed let out a small laugh as Roy entered the room. He couldn’t remember ever being so relieved to see the kid smiling.

His relief quickly died back down, being replaced with guilt once again. Ed’s hand was covered in bandages, drawing attention to the empty space where the rest of his palm should be. It looked as if his three remaining fingers were intact and bandaged up nicely, but it hurt so much to be reminded of his idiotic mistake.

The kid didn’t seem to notice his hesitation. They were talking about going back to Resembool to fix up Fullmetal’s automail. Roy briefly wondered if Ed would explode if he tried to apologize. He opened his mouth a few times to try to say something, but couldn’t find the right moment in the conversation to bring it up. 

Ed unsteadily stood up. Roy had decided that he would bring up his apology at another time. Maybe when there wasn’t such a big audience.

For now, he would just pretend like everything was fine. “Are you going to try to get automail fingers?” He meant for the question to come off as playful, but his voice fluctuated and caught on itself several times throughout the sentence. If the kid noticed, he didn’t say anything.

“I don’t know. I’ll have to talk with Winry about it, see if it’s even worth getting. Assuming she doesn’t kill me, you know.” He seemed a bit too relaxed for someone who had just been through… that. 

Roy was honestly eager for the Elric brothers to go back home for a bit. Scar’s retreat had left everyone on edge, and no one knew his current location. It would be safer for them to leave the city outright.

With a glare, Hughes had stood up and declared that he needed to discuss some things with Hawkeye. The two bid their farewells to the brothers, reassuring them that they were always there if they needed anything. The sound in the room left with them.

Well. There goes the audience.

Roy wasn’t sure if he should immediately broach the subject or ease into it. On one hand, if he just went right into it he wouldn’t risk the boys leaving before he could say anything. On the other hand, If Fullmetal figured where the conversation was going before it got there, he could easily redirect it. 

He took back what he said. He wished Hughes was here for this.

“Look, I just want to come out and say it. I’m sorry for acting rashly and putting your life in danger. It was stupid and I shouldn’t have done it.” Roy was looking at the ground like a coward.

“Woah, is that the first time you’ve ever apologized to me?” Ed had that cheeky tone back in his voice. Roy could hear Alphonse whisper something along the lines of  _ don’t be rude  _ but Roy would not push his luck.

“I mean it. I unnecessarily put your life at risk today, and I will never do it again.” Honestly, this would be easier if the kid got mad at him. He deserved it. 

“Yeah, yeah, the guy probably would have done it anyways. I know it’s hard for you, but could you try to think the next time you do something?” Edward had adopted that evil grin he loved to wear. 

Their conversation had devolved back into banter, like it usually does. Sometime during their conversation, Major Armstrong had burst into the room stating that he would be their escort. 

Roy spent much more time than necessary explaining that yes, they would need an escort, and no, they could not refuse. Roy would feel a lot more at ease if there was someone with the Elric brothers that he trusted. That, and there was no good way for Fullmetal to transport his brother in that condition.

The extremely large man had already gone to start moving Alphonse. Edward had followed him, making his way out of the room.

Roy had a feeling he wouldn’t see the kid for a while.

“Oh, Fullmetal?”

The kid looked over his shoulder and grunted in response, prodding him to continue.

“Be careful.”

**Author's Note:**

> happy oct 3 i guess


End file.
